New leaders will look into police wrongdoing, shootings, Daley says

December 06, 2007|By Gary Washburn, Tribune staff reporter

Mayor Richard Daley pointed Wednesday to reforms he has made to investigate allegations of police misconduct but dodged when asked if the Police Department has rushed to clear officers involved in shootings.

Daley touted his revamping of the Office of Professional Standards, which investigates shootings by officers as well as charges of police wrongdoing, and his recruitment of California attorney Ilana Rosenzweig to head it. Recently, the oft-criticized office was given new powers and a new name, the Independent Police Review Authority, as part of its makeover.

A shooting never is justified "in the sense you have a loss of life," Daley said. "That's why we have the new [office]. Ilana Rosenzweig is looking at that in regards to cases, in regard to judgments. She has been out there immediately [after shootings]. At one time it was within the Police Department. Now, it is separate, which is very important to us."

Although Daley has given the civilian oversight agency some expanded investigative powers, its recommendations are subject to review by the police superintendent. And the agency will continue to deal with staffing problems for the foreseeable future. Budgeted for 85 positions, the agency is short 24 people. The current caseload for investigators is about 30, Rosenzweig said, about three times what she thinks is reasonable.

Daley was asked about the failure of the department until now to press forward with investigations even after evidence has surfaced that casts doubt on their versions of shootings.

"I don't know all the particulars, but [Rosenzweig] will look at all those cases," he said.

An eight-month investigation by the Tribune examining more than 200 cases in the last decade concluded that cursory Police Department investigations of shootings by officers create a separate standard of justice.

At "roundtables" held immediately after shootings -- during which there is no sworn testimony, no or incomplete forensic evidence and no official record of the proceedings -- officers' actions almost always are found justified, the investigation found. Cases have not been reopened after evidence has come to light that conflicts with the officer's account.

Daley seemed to defend the use of roundtables.

Asked if officers involved in shootings are treated differently from other citizens, he replied, "I hope not. No, because you have a roundtable discussion with prosecutors there and everybody else there. You have all the parties there."

When he was told that no one is sworn and evidence is not presented, Daley, a former state's attorney, replied, "Well, I don't know all about that."

Daley acknowledged that "a fresh approach" is needed to investigate possible wrongdoing, and he said that Jody Weis, the career FBI agent he named last week to head the department, "will look at" the system.

Aldermen critical of what they contend has been a tolerance of excessive force by officers in some cases are expected to monitor what takes place.

"There obviously are some problems with the Chicago Police Department, and it doesn't make sense for us to pretend like they don't exist," said Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th). "If we are going to address them, we have to do something different."

That could mean "looking at the way they do the roundtables, looking at all the evidence," she said. "Looking at court judgments we have had to pay out, apparently there are things that differ [at the shooting scene] from what [is said] at the roundtable."

Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) said she is aware of "plenty of cases" of suspicious shootings by police.

"It raises questions in my mind, and one of the things I will be looking at very closely is the extent to which [Rosenzweig] can really shine some light on this and make it a much more transparent process so that people know ... how these cases are turning out. We don't have any information."